Ahead of her tour to talk about her new book - Mary Berry Everyday – Make every meal special, published by BBC Books, 26th January 2017 - I've been given a special interview with the culinary queen herself to share with you, as part of my ambassador role for THSH.
Everyday is a fantastic family cookbook. Can you explain the thought process that went into the writing of this book?
I was thinking about, as the title suggests, ‘Everyday’.
Everyday can be just with the family, it can mean having friends around; it can
be a special occasion. This book is giving the recipes I have done for a long
time a bit of a twist. There aren’t too many ingredients in the recipes either,
which was also important.
But you must also remember ingredients do change. For
instance, Butternut Squash and Quinoa are used a lot more now. People see
Quinoa on the supermarket shelf and they know they have had it in a restaurant
but they don’t know what to do with it. And so, I have added a few more
ingredients to the Quinoa in order to make it tastier. I want to inspire people
to cook and I do think a book is a nice thing to have. I am very lucky that
people do trust me and that they do have a go.
Can you name some
of your favourite recipes from the book?
I like the ones I can make ahead because we are all busy
and I like to do something that is suitable for the weather – things that are
in season, things that aren’t too complicated. I’ve included some summery
recipes in this book, plus casseroles with dumplings. Usually with dumplings,
it’s a blob! What I have done is taken a suet crust and flattened it out and
then made it into a Swiss roll, putting horseradish in the swirl. It’s
delicious.
Did you try the
recipes all out on your family first?
All the recipes are tried out at home. My family tell me
what they think. And yes of course I do take constructive criticism! The
children might say ‘oh yuck’ or someone may say ‘that takes too long to do’ and
those don’t go in the book. But I make sure there aren’t too many of those!
It’s important not to have too many ingredients or pieces of equipment.
There are lots of
amazing tips and techniques included in the book. If you had to pick out a few
vital tips, what would they be?
It’s a good idea to have a set of digital scales. Not so
much for savoury dishes, but definitely for baking because if you do go heavy
on an ingredient, it can alter the whole texture. If people want the same
result as I have been showing them on television, a set of measuring spoons is
ideal, too, especially if they want the same flavour – and particularly so with
spices.
Does your
husband, Paul, ever try to butt in and help you with the cooking?! What’s his
speciality?
Paul is wonderful. He is always there for me. Take today. I
have a big day today and he was so brilliant, cleaning and tidying everything
up after breakfast. But him do the cooking?! You must be joking!!!!! I do the
cooking at home and on the rare occasion I am not well, he will always make an
omelette. And after two or three omelettes, I am normally better!
And what savoury
dish is your stand out speciality when you are cooking for friends and family?
It depends on what sort of occasion it is. If it’s a cold
winter’s day, I might do beef stew with horseradish dumplings or I might do a
fillet of beef en croute. It really depends what it is for.
As a rule, however, my first course would very likely be on
a little plate for everybody with maybe a salad or a terrine. It would be ready
to serve. And then the main dish, I prepare ahead and so then I simply need to
reheat it or add something like cream or fried mushrooms. For the pudding, I do
two – one luxurious one and also, some fresh fruit prepared without any sugar
in a bowl. You offer it to them but they never want it and we have it for
breakfast the next day!
Are you keen to
involve your family in your work life more nowadays?
Annabel and I have cooked together since she was young and we had a
Salad Dressings and Sauces business together which we sold a few years ago but
still have approval on the new products. The
grandchildren are in the new series of Everyday, which is accompanying the
publication of my book. In one episode, I make Goat’s Cheese and Atalanta helps
me milk the goats. As we were walking up, I said to her ‘have you ever milked
goats before?’ Quick as a flash, she replied ‘no granny, I have never
milked nothing’! But she was so successful at milking the goat and I was no
good at all!
It’s good to involve children in helping to cook and
choosing a recipe they can do well. If you have their friends around to play,
you can make pizzas and let them choose your toppings or you can make cakes.
They need someone there to help weigh things out but it is a lot of fun.
You are
everybody’s favourite cook. You have become part of British culture. Do you get
embarrassed or are you flattered – especially nowadays?!
People are so nice and I am very, very lucky. People touch
me on the arm in a supermarket and gently lean over and say things like ‘that
Lemon Drizzle cake, we love it’. Most say ‘thanks to you, my children have got
into baking’. It’s so lovely of them to say that.
Do you ever get
emotional about how well you have done and what have you achieved?
No, no! I am very lucky to have had the opportunity!
You’ve got a TV
series accompanying this book, and a show about Britain’s Great houses which
you are about to film; do you have any other TV plans in the pipeline?
The historic houses series will be very interesting. We are
researching it now. We will be going to country houses that have families
living in them and I will be going behind the scenes and seeing how they live,
watch them grow their vegetables, and find out if they have any tips or recipes
they have been handed down over the years. It is not going to be a history
lesson because we want it to be informal. The country houses series will go out
in 2017.
Do you ever drag
your friends along to your cooking demos?
In the new series of Everyday, I have asked some very close
friends to a party in the final episode. There is a lot of hanging about but I
hope they love coming. Our friends are really good. They are always very kind.
If I am going to something like Strictly, I take a friend along as they enjoy
it or one of my family members.
And finally, if
ever the Queen rang you up to invite you to cook for her, what three-course
meal would you serve?
I have been to Buckingham Palace for lunch in the past.
What would I cook? I know she loves things made from British ingredients. I
would use something very much in season, something light and something I
thought she would enjoy. I think I would ask her first because she must have
some favourites that I don’t know about. I would do a twist on something she
suggested.
Thank you to THSH and Mary Berry for such a fun interview - tickets on sale now to see her talk when she comes to Birmingham on 16th March.
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